Horse racing pay-television channel Racing UK is planning further football-related collaborations with bookmaker SkyBet after the successful trial broadcast of the Ayr Gold Cup race at the English Championship match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Blackpool.
SkyBet is the title sponsor of English football’s second tier and the Ayr Gold Cup – for which Racing UK holds the television rights – was broadcast on September 20 via the two big screens at Brighton’s Amex Stadium and on concourse televisions.
It marked the first time horse racing has been shown at half-time during an English Football League match. The next horse racing event to be broadcast at Brighton’s stadium is set to be confirmed shortly.
Clive Cottrell, marketing director at Racing UK, said: “Supporters enjoyed a pint and a pie while gathered around the screens on the concourses, and the racing also looked fantastic as a spectacle on the big screen. The hope is that other clubs will sit up and take notice and this half-time entertainment will be rolled out across other stadiums.”
Additionally, the 25,000 crowd at Brighton were given the opportunity to bet on the race through SkyBet via its parent company BSkyB’s free WiFi service, The Cloud. A fivefold increase on The Cloud’s average click-through rate via its WiFi landing page was reported.